Anything Goes
by ShadowSwan
Summary: ...after all, it is Anubis House. Various snapshots of life before, during, and after Anubis. Collection of one-shots, a mixture of my own ideas and yours. Any characters, any scene, any situation - you want to read it, I'll write it. Latest story: Ben/Piper fluff based on Hunter Hayes' 'Invisible'.


**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters, places etc. related to House of Anubis.**

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**A/N: Thanks for clicking! I don't usually do author's notes at the beginning, but this is important. I'll try and keep it short. This is going to be a collection of one-shots, featuring anyone and everyone from HOA. The idea is that you guys tell me what you want to see. I have my own ideas obviously, but if you've ever thought of a scene you want to see, tell me and I'll have a go at writing it. Missing scenes, what-ifs, future fics, songfics, random scenes... anything goes. Every chapter will be a one-shot, so there's no need to read them all/read them in order. Just look at whatever takes your fancy!**

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Something Different

Characters: Ben/Piper  
Setting: S2 AU  
Genres: Friendship/Romance  
Written For: No one in particular, but inspired by TrixieKrueger, MusicalWheaten, writing-is-thinking-on-paper, rough-water and anyone else who has come up with the madness of Ben/Piper.  
Summary: Ben/Piper fluff based on Hunter Hayes' 'Invisible'.

Disclaimer: I don't own the song 'Invisible', I'm just using it as inspiration. Because it's beautiful.

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_Crowded hallways are the loneliest places for outcasts and rebels_

_Or anyone who just dares to be different._

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Piper Williamson was perfect.

In the eyes of her new school, she could do no wrong. Pretty, clever, talented, incredibly kind... the list went on and on. She was all the good parts of her twin with all of the bad taken out. Everyone wanted to be her, but failing that, they wanted to know her. Whether it was in class, at lunch, at band, she always found herself surrounded by new friends.

It was lovely, really, all of it. She was flattered. At her old school she'd had a solid group of friends, but this was next level. Her social status seemed to have elevated overnight and she had absolutely no idea why. At first she'd assumed it was because she was new, and there was already interest because her sister already attended this school. She figured once they realised she was really just quite a boring, regular person, they'd drift away.

This hadn't happened though. Somehow she'd managed to convince them that she was interesting, that she was funny, that she was someone people wanted around.

It was great, and it had been a huge confidence boost when she first started, but it was starting to wear thin. The problem was, people only wanted to know Piper. Not Piper Williamson, the musical prodigy who spent her evenings reading and indulging in trashy television, a secret she'd take to the grave.

Just Piper.

Just the new girl, the new popular girl, the person you had to be friends with.

So at times like this, when a dozen or so people were crowded around her, listening intently as she told them she really, really had to go to her next class, she felt strangely invisible.

\/\O~O/\/

Ben Reed was flawless.

In the eyes of his new school, he could do no wrong. Funny, handsome, talented, effortlessly cool... the list went on and on. He was the superhero antithesis to his villainous brother. Everyone wanted to be him, but failing that, they wanted to know him. Whether it was in class, at lunch, at football practice, he always found himself surrounded by new friends.

He enjoyed it, honestly, it was awesome. As a new kid, son of the principal, and brother to everyone's favourite bad guy, he'd figured it was going to be pretty hard trying to convince anyone to be his friend. Back home he was just one of the boys, but he didn't know much about how to fit in with the guys at this new school. If his brother was one of them, he certainly wouldn't be.

It had turned out his brother wasn't one of them though, and to his amazement, he found that the lads wanted him to be one of them.

It was new and fun, and he was hugely relieved that he'd managed to make friends so quickly. They'd let him straight onto the football team, no questions asked, and when he'd proved his considerable skills, he'd been promoted to captain. And no one even cared. While it was great, he couldn't help but question it. It had all happened so quickly that he felt intense pressure to keep it all up. He had to be Ben, the new football star, envy of everyone. The problem was, people only wanted to know Ben. Not Ben Reed, the slightly dorkish, occasionally insecure boy whose favourite thing to do was actually secretly play guitar in the dead of night.

Just Ben.

Just the new boy, the new popular boy, the person you had to be friends with.

So at times like this, when his entire team was crowded around him cheering as he tried and failed to make his retreat from the changing rooms, he felt strangely invisible.

\/\O~O/\/

Ben looked around frantically. He had approximately two seconds before the science class next door spilled out, and he would be charged upon. Every single one of his teammates was in that room, and the night before he'd scored the winning goal for the team. He'd managed to escape then, but he had next to no chance of avoiding them now.

He needed somewhere he could hide, just for the next fifteen minutes, so he could have a peaceful break and carry on with lessons. He'd manage at lunch. They could have their celebration then. Right now though, he felt less than celebratory. The only thing he had to be pleased about was that they'd been let out a minute early, so he had a whole minute to find a hiding spot.

The bell rang, signalling that he was out of time, and he darted away, throwing open the first door he came across and slamming it behind him.

For a second he waited, listening for them and their loud voices, but when their yelling passed right by him, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Can I help you?"

Ben leapt a foot in the air. He'd had absolutely no idea someone else was in this room. He'd just assumed it was empty because it was too small to be a classroom. He figured it was a storeroom of some sort. Whirling round, he saw a girl sat at a piano, looking at him with curiosity and amusement.

"Oh, Patricia," he said, clutching his heart. "Sorry."

"Like Patricia would ever sit still long enough to learn how to play a piano," the girl tutted, wandering over. "I'm Piper. Patricia's twin."

She stuck her hand out pompously, in a way that made him smile for no real reason.

"Ben," he said, shaking her outstretched hand. "So, I guess I'm sorry for interrupting your piano practice."

He'd finally realised he was in a music practice room, and was starting to feel guilty about just barging in.

"I'll let you off. You looked terrified when you came in, so I figure there's a good enough reason. So, how do you know Patricia?"

"She's dating my brother, Eddie," Ben shrugged.

"Oh, you're the infamous Benji?" Piper asked, eyes widening.

"Yep, and I guess you're the infamous... well, you're Piper," Ben said hastily, realising Piper probably wouldn't want to hear what her sister actually called her.

"I am indeed Piper," she said, a smile playing on her lips. It automatically made Ben smile too.

"Well it's nice to meet you," he grinned. "Nice to put a face to the name. Even if it's a face I already know."

"I don't know. I always thought our faces were pretty different," Piper joked.

"Actually they are," Ben said quietly, noting how Piper's features seemed softer, friendlier.

"Well it's nice to put a face to your name too," she laughed, going over to the piano and gathering her things up.

"I'm really sorry that I've kept you from playing," said Ben, motioning to her untouched sheet music and feeling guilty once more.

"It's fine, this was much more fun," Piper smiled.

"It was," Ben agreed to his surprise.

"I don't know if you're free anytime soon," Piper said, suddenly shy. "But I'd love to find out what exactly it is you're hiding from."

"I think I can find the time," Ben replied. "Especially if you tell me what you're hiding from too."

\/\O~O/\/

"So, I guess you play piano?"

Without either of them having said a word, they'd both found themselves back in the music room at break the next day. Piper had arrived first, telling herself that she was just there to play piano, trying to ignore how her heart soared when Ben had gingerly opened the door.

"Yeah, just a little bit," she giggled.

"What's funny?" he asked.

She was sat cross legged on the piano stool, while Ben was perched precariously on a drum opposite her.

"I thought everyone knew that by now," she shrugged. "It seems to be all anyone thinks when they see me. Oh look, there's Piper, piano playing Piper. It's like there's nothing more to me than Patricia and piano and popularity."

"How do you feel about penguins?" Ben teased, and Piper glared at him. "Woah, good Patricia impression."

"Hilarious," Piper drawled. "Is that what you're known for then? Being a clown?"

"Actually, I think that's Eddie's job," said Ben. "I'm on the football team. That would appear to be my... thing."

"I didn't even know we had a football team," laughed Piper.

"Well, it's quite nice to meet someone who doesn't to be honest," Ben said truthfully. "Someone who might look at me and not immediately think I'm some soccer lad."

"It's football," Piper corrected him.

"Sorry, Eddie's bad habits," Ben said, shaking his head. "It's what he calls me. One of the soccer lads. Mocking me, of course."

"Yeah well Patricia doesn't call me much better," Piper sympathised. "They don't mean it though. Or at least, I don't think they do."

"They don't," Ben reassured her with a laugh. "But there are people who do. Not that they matter..."

"...but sometimes it would be nice to be seen as something more than just a footballer, or a pianist," Piper finished.

Ben glanced up at Piper. Finally, finally, he'd found someone who understood. It wasn't that they disliked everyone else, or that they begrudged their mass of friends, and of course he liked playing football, as he imagined she loved playing music, but it would be nice to be separated from it all just once. It would be nice to have just one person who could see them as something else.

They both grinned at one another as the bell rang.

\/\O~O/\/

"Ew, that's disgusting!" Piper squealed, clutching her stomach which was hurting from laughing so hard.

"No, hear me out, just chop the cucumber up into chunks, not slices, that's where people go wrong, and then just dip the end of it into the ketchup. Best snack ever. You won't regret it," Ben said, trying to keep a straight face for the story but unable to do so.

"No, I am never trying that," Piper said breathlessly, trying to calm down from her hysterical fit of giggles.

Yesterday they'd started swapping weird facts about one another, and it had become a competition, to see who could be crowned most odd. So far Ben was winning with his disgusting food combinations, but Piper's revelation about how she loved getting up at five in the morning to watch children's television shows had posed a serious threat.

For two months now they'd been meeting in the music practice room. It had carried on being a break time thing for quite a while, but soon they found fifteen minutes wasn't nearly long enough. The freedom they felt around one another was exhilarating. Neither of them felt like they had to be anything but themselves. There were no expectations, no disappointments.

They could be Ben and Piper, but Ben and Piper the people, not the names.

Breaks had graduated to lunchtimes, to breaks and lunchtimes, to breaks, lunchtimes, after school and sometimes even before school. If anyone ever questioned it, Piper would explain she was just practising, and they'd let it slide. Ben had started using one of the guitars in the room, so sometimes he took the fall and claimed he was the one practising.

Sometimes they'd sit and chat non-stop until hours had passed without either of them realising. Sometimes they'd sit in total silence and just laze around. Occasionally Piper would play piano, or Ben would impress Piper with how long he could keep a football up in the air. Most of the time though, Ben would sit and play guitar and Piper would sit and watch her trashy television shows on her laptop, and they'd just smile at one another every so often.

For the first time since arriving at the school, they felt like they were actually being noticed. Like they finally had a friend.

\/\O~O/\/

Piper Williamson was not perfect. Ben Reed was not flawless.

Together though, they were unstoppable.

Three months down the line, and they'd finally, reluctantly, come out of the music practice room. They'd started being normal again. Spending break in the corridors. Eating lunch in the cafeteria. Doing homework in each other's bedrooms when they could, but more often than not, in the common room.

No one else had changed.

Piper still found herself surrounded by girls at any given moment, questioning how she got her hair so shiny, how she could possibly be so clever and have time to learn to play the piano, where she got those shoes from, but whenever she started to feel a little overwhelmed, she'd just glance down at her hand in Ben's and know that there was always one person who didn't care about any of that.

Ben still found himself being hoisted up into the air every time he scored a winning goal at football, every time he made a successful tackle, every time he told a cracker of a joke and the whole changing room fell about laughing, but whenever he started to feel a little lonely up there, he'd just look over at where Piper was sat smiling at him in the stands and know that there was always one person who didn't care if he won or if he lost.

As they strode through the hallways, hand in hand, they both knew that neither of them would feel quite so lonely again, and that they could survive because there was just one other person who didn't make them feel invisible.

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**A/N: Right, now for the proper author's note! We all know I like to ramble. Firstly, the story itself. Hi! Welcome. As you may know, I'm a big fan of writing, and I struggle to go more than a couple of days without posting something new, so I've started this badboy. Proper stories such as _The Book of Thoth _(which you should totally check out if you haven't already...) take a while to write because they need planning, but one-shots are gloriously self-contained, so I much prefer them. So, you'll probably find me updating this fairly often. I know there are loads of one-shot collections floating about on here, but what (I hope) makes this one different is that a. it isn't focused on one couple, or even couples at all and b. you guys get to decide what you want to see. Like I mentioned at the start, send me anything you want to see written, and as long as it's fairly realistic, I'll try my hand at it. Send me as much or as little detail as you want - I'll work with anything. It doesn't have to be a romantic pairing either - friendship can be fun too! Promise! So, I hope I've made that clear. I'll always post details of the latest chapter in the summary, and the characters/genres of the story will be based on the latest chapter, so you can see at a glance what the new one is about and whether you're interested.**

**Now, this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. This has taken so long to write. It was meant to be up days ago. I heard this song and fell in love with it, and instantly knew I had to write something for it. For me, songfics are just fics inspired by a song, which is what this is, hopefully. It took a lot longer to write than expected though. When I first heard this, all I could think was Peddie. It's so Peddie. It's Peddie all over. So I started writing Peddie and realised I couldn't. Then I realised the song also kinda fit everyone. Anubis House is really just a bunch of oddballs. So I started writing a new idea, with eight to ten different characters. Didn't like that either. Tried Peddie again. Didn't feel like I was doing them justice. Then I had some crazy lightbulb moment. Thank you to all the writers I mentioned at the top, and anyone else who came up with Ben/Piper, for absolutely ruining me. I knew it was only a matter of time before I wrote something for them. I really, really hope I've done an okay job with them, and I hope it was also okay for me to use this pairing, which I know you guys came up with. Personally, I think it's a cracking pairing. Anyway, the first chapter of this new project is finally up, and I'm so excited!**

**So, remember to review with as many different ideas as you want, and let's get the ball rolling! Thanks for reading :)**


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